PC Losing Ground To Tablets, Smartphones

Port Washington, N.Y. – It is becoming more obvious that consumers are moving their online activity away from their PC and onto mobile devices.

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Port Washington, N.Y. – It is becoming more obvious that consumers are moving their online activity away from their PC and onto mobile devices.

The NPD Group issued a report today stating that 37 percent of those who used to access online content via their PC — whether desktop or laptop — are now using their tablet or smartphone.

About 27 percent of tablet owners are using their devices more frequently to browse the web and 20 percent more to access Facebook. Smartphones owners show a similar trend, with 27 percent using their phone to access the web and Facebook.

NPD found that the top-three activities on tablets are web browsing, Facebook, and playing free online games, which tied with reading books and magazines. Smartphones are showing a similar usage model, but posting photos to the web replaces games and reading as the third most-popular activity.

The PC’s problems don’t stop with mobile devices. About 21 percent of smart-TV owners said they are using them to watch streaming video instead of their PC.

“Consumers, however, are switching their entertainment-centric behaviors to tablets, smartphones, and connected TVs at warp speed. During 2013 this trend will be further perpetuated as more mobile devices become enabled with screen-sharing technologies, such as AllShare and Miracast, that allow users to bridge their mobile devices to their TV screens,” said John Buffone, NPD’s devices director, ConnectedIntelligence.

Despite this trend, Buffone noted that content creation will remain in the domain of the PC, and those products are still the leading tool people use to access the web and Facebook.